Wolfburn Single Cask #2014 #344 8 Years Old 2014 (Ex-Bourbon)

A Wolfburn single malt, an 8 year old from 2014, cask 2014 #344, bottled at 57.1%. Founded in 2013, Wolfburn is a small, hand run distillery at Thurso in Caithness. The original Wolfburn was founded in 1821 by William Smith and was once the largest distillery in Caithness, falling silent in the 1860s.

The spirit was run through the distillery's one wash and one spirit still, for a clean, fruity make. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, soft oak that lets the coastal fruit lead. Past five years the make gains a fuller fruit while staying fresh. Hand filled and hand bottled, each cask is followed closely from fill to glass. Everything here is done by hand, from milling to bottling, the mark of a true small distillery. Most of the make is unpeated, with a lightly peated malt distilled since 2014 for a soft smoke. The core range runs Northland, Aurora, Morven and Langskip, names drawn from the far north.

At a natural 57.1% it is full and lively. Pear, honey and a clean malt, and ex-Bourbon oak gives vanilla and a light apple. The texture is light and fresh, the fruit lifted by a coastal salt. The finish runs light, coastal and crisp. This is Wolfburn's clean, coastal Thurso single malt.